4-star DT Victory Vaka sees himself at Michigan, loves Shaun Nua

Westlake Village (Calif.) Westlake 2021 4-star DT Victory Vaka has a top 5 of Michigan, Oregon, Texas A&M, Florida and Florida State.

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Victory Vaka is a top target for Michigan’s football team.

The 6-foot-3, 325-pound defensive tackle is a four-star prospect and scheduled to make his commitment Dec. 16. From now until then, he has plenty to figure out.

From Westlake Village (Calif.) Westlake, Vaka has trimmed his list to five schools – Michigan, Oregon, Texas A&M, Florida and Florida State.

The only reason the Wolverines made the top group is because of defensive line coach Shaun Nua.

“I love that guy,” Vaka told WolverinesWire. “I’m also in constant communication with coach Don Brown. Defensive tackle is a position of need, and I want to play early.”

Vaka has official visits scheduled for Florida (April 18), Michigan (June 19), Oregon (Sept. 11) and Texas A&M (Nov. 7).

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Since the 2019 season concluded, Michigan has found itself in need of depth on the defensive line. The Wolverines struggled in the run game and didn’t have many options outside of redshirt senior Carlo Kemp at the inside spots.

Entering his second year, Nua is in charge of finding new pieces.

Because of Nua’s leadership, Vaka sees himself wearing maize and blue.

“Just me being under coach (Jim) Harbaugh and coach Nua would be a huge honor,” he said.

Spring practice cancellations because of coronavirus concerns have postponed the visits Vaka was planning to make during the spring, but he’s still slated to commit on early signing day.

Vaka is ranked No. 200 in the country, No. 13 at defensive tackle and No. 19 in California, according to the 247Sports composite.

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